A one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.A one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.A one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 wins & 8 nominations total
Walter Beaver
- Cafe Lounger
- (unconfirmed)
Billy Dix
- Cafe Lounger
- (unconfirmed)
Mickey Little
- Cafe Lounger
- (unconfirmed)
K.L. Smith
- Cafe Lounger
- (unconfirmed)
Robert Griffin
- Second Train Conductor
- (uncredited)
Harry Harvey
- First Train Conductor
- (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson
- One of Two Porters
- (uncredited)
Francis McDonald
- Tall - White-haired Cafe Lounger
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohn Sturges had already moved on to his next film, The Scarlet Coat (1955), so Herman Hoffman took charge of filming the opening. The plan was to shoot the train hurtling toward the audience, almost like a 3-D movie, but it would have been deadly to attempt a helicopter maneuver into the path of a speeding locomotive. Stunt flier Paul Mantz offered the perfect solution: have the train running backwards, fly the copter over the retreating engine, then project the footage in reverse. "It's a helluva shot," Sturges later said, "but I didn't make it."
- GoofsAs the train approaches the town, the horn blows twice, which is the signal for starting up. The mandatory signal for a grade crossing (long, long, short, long) is never blown, although one clearly exists. When the train departs, the conductor makes a confused hand signal to the engineer resembling the horizontal motion that means "stop" rather than the vertical motion that means "go". The engineer never responds with the "long, long" starting signal.
- Quotes
Coley Trimble: You're a yellow-bellied Jap lover! Am I right or wrong?
John J. Macreedy: You're not only wrong. You're wrong at the top of your voice.
Coley Trimble: [gets ready to scrap] You don't like my voice?
- Alternate versionsTo receive an 'A' (PG) certificate in 1955 the UK cinema version was subject to heavy BBFC cuts. These included Macreedy striking Hector with the brass fire hose nozzle and the climactic shots of Reno on fire. Later TV showings and video releases were fully uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn (1986)
Featured review
Spence licks the town with one arm
Bad Day at Black Rock turned out to be the final film that Spencer Tracy did on his MGM contract. The following year he was fired off the set of Tribute to a Bad Man and left MGM abruptly. Some reward for an actor who brought so much prestige to that studio.
Tracy gets off a train at a hole in the wall, whistlestop, speedtrap of a town called Black Rock located somewhere in the Mojave desert. He's looking for a Japanese farmer named Komoko who seems to have vanished. And the townspeople are downright unfriendly to the stranger.
It gradually dawns on Tracy that by probing about Komoko's whereabouts, he's stepped in one big festering pile and he's put himself in danger. What he does about it is the rest of the film.
John Sturges keeps the tension going here worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock film. In fact if Hitchcock had ever decided to do a western and was presented with Bad Day at Black Rock, I doubt he could do it any better. Certain arty Hitchcock touches are missing, but the suspense is there. Sturges was in fact nominated for Best Director.
As was Tracy nominated for Best Actor. He lost ironically to one of his fellow cast members Ernest Borgnine who copped the big prize for Marty. But in fact any one of the small cast could have been nominated. I'm not sure why chief villain Robert Ryan wasn't.
A fews years later John Sturges directed another film The Law and Jake Wade about Robert Taylor being held prisoner by Richard Widmark and his gang. There was a lot of suspense there as well, similar to Bad Day at Black Rock, as to whether Taylor would escape his predicament.
For a feature film in 1955 it is a rather short one, less than 90 minutes. But as Tracy said in another film, what there is is cherce.
Tracy gets off a train at a hole in the wall, whistlestop, speedtrap of a town called Black Rock located somewhere in the Mojave desert. He's looking for a Japanese farmer named Komoko who seems to have vanished. And the townspeople are downright unfriendly to the stranger.
It gradually dawns on Tracy that by probing about Komoko's whereabouts, he's stepped in one big festering pile and he's put himself in danger. What he does about it is the rest of the film.
John Sturges keeps the tension going here worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock film. In fact if Hitchcock had ever decided to do a western and was presented with Bad Day at Black Rock, I doubt he could do it any better. Certain arty Hitchcock touches are missing, but the suspense is there. Sturges was in fact nominated for Best Director.
As was Tracy nominated for Best Actor. He lost ironically to one of his fellow cast members Ernest Borgnine who copped the big prize for Marty. But in fact any one of the small cast could have been nominated. I'm not sure why chief villain Robert Ryan wasn't.
A fews years later John Sturges directed another film The Law and Jake Wade about Robert Taylor being held prisoner by Richard Widmark and his gang. There was a lot of suspense there as well, similar to Bad Day at Black Rock, as to whether Taylor would escape his predicament.
For a feature film in 1955 it is a rather short one, less than 90 minutes. But as Tracy said in another film, what there is is cherce.
helpful•8120
- bkoganbing
- Oct 27, 2005
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,271,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $10,813
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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